Liam Lawson has once again spoken about his move to Racing Bulls, accusing Red Bull Racing of having planned his demotion as early as the Chinese Grand Prix weekend.
The New Zealand driver revisited the topic of his early-season drop from Red Bull to its junior team, Racing Bulls, a switch that became one of the more controversial driver moves of the 2025 campaign.
After competing in only two Grands Prix with the senior team, Lawson was replaced by Yuki Tsunoda and reassigned to the Faenza-based squad, effectively swapping seats with the Japanese driver.
Liam Lawson had originally been called up to replace Sergio Perez, who had already publicly acknowledged the difficulty of driving a Red Bull alongside triple world champion Max Verstappen. Following the Mexican’s departure, the 23-year-old was given a rare opportunity at the top level but was unable to make it even halfway through the season before being moved aside. Now, it is Tsunoda who is facing difficulties in the main team, with his future beyond 2025 uncertain.
The New Zealander also accused Red Bull of failing to prepare him adequately for the enormous challenge he faced at the start of the year. He contrasted the approach taken by the Milton Keynes squad with the methods employed by Mercedes, which he claimed provided far more thorough preparation for young drivers making their debut in Formula 1.
Liam Lawson’s perspective on his preparation
In a recent interview, Lawson implied that he had not been properly equipped to handle the challenge of stepping into Red Bull’s top-tier seat. He noted that when compared to how other teams introduce a rookie into Formula 1, Red Bull’s preparation process for him was minimal. He referenced the extensive testing programme given to Andrea Kimi Antonelli before his 2025 debut as an example, pointing out that in his own case, there had been nothing comparable.
He explained that his first two races with Red Bull took place on circuits where he had never previously competed, one of which was part of a sprint weekend format, adding an extra layer of complexity. He also mentioned that the team had suffered from reliability issues during the pre-season test in Bahrain and again at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, making it harder for him to settle in.
Lawson revealed that during the Chinese Grand Prix, the team had decided to take a gamble with the car’s set-up in order to experiment and learn more about its behaviour. At the time, he believed this was a move designed to help him grow as a driver and gain a deeper understanding of the machinery for the future. However, in his view, that very performance was later used against him as justification for his demotion back to Racing Bulls.
Liam Lawson admits his own shortcomings
Since returning to the Racing Bulls team, Lawson’s form has improved, with the New Zealander scoring points in three of the last four race weekends.
Reflecting on his brief stint in the senior Red Bull squad, Lawson admitted that he had not been satisfied with his own personal performances, even though the car’s issues had played a significant role in limiting his results. He conceded that neither of his two weekends in the RB20 had been “clean” in terms of execution, and that by his own standards, they were not good enough.
Lawson added that he had pushed himself as hard as possible and had worked to reach competitive pace quickly, but looking back, he could see moments where he wished he had approached things differently to better help himself. He stated that if he had known at the time that he would go on to win two races later in the season, he might have adopted a different approach during his Red Bull tenure.
In hindsight, Lawson acknowledged that he might have been somewhat naive in believing he would be given the time to develop and learn within the team. His expectation had been that Red Bull would keep him in the seat for a period of growth, but the reality turned out to be very different.
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